Fuel efficiency drives the auto industry to reduce vehicle weight
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Energy Sector Analysis
Lowering auto weight requires lighter, stronger materials and integrated manufacturing processes.
Fuel efficiency drives the auto industry to reduce vehicle weight By Arthur L. Robinson Feature Editors: Alan I. Taub and Gregory A. Keoleian
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n this age of global warming, the automotive industry is seeking to minimize the energy required to manufacture and operate its products without sacrificing performance and safety or increasing cost. Toward this end, whether cars and trucks are powered by internal-combustion engines or batteries, lowering vehicle weight is a major contributor to reducing energy consumption by increasing fuel efficiency. “The industry is driven by fuel efficiency,” said David Matlock of the Colorado School of Mines, who has helped develop advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs) used in autos. According to Alan Taub of the University of Michigan and former General Motors executive, industry researchers have succeeded in squeezing more weight out of auto materials with a three-pronged strategy: Finding stronger, lighter materials than used previously; developing manufacturing processes for parts made from advanced materials that require minimal retooling; and designing parts that use as little material as possible (a process called topology optimization). Despite lightweighting advances, however, vehicle weight from 1985 to 2000 actually increased, owing to the addition of vehicle features needed to meet government regulations and consumer preferences. After around 2005, the weight of vehicles leveled off as continuing improvements in weight-reduction technology were used to offset further increases in content. During this era, despite no improvement in weight, fuel economy increased as a result of improved powertrain efficiency. “Future improvements in fuel efficiency are expected through further lightweighting and vehicle electrification,” said Gregory Keoleian, also at the University of Michigan. A useful industry guideline for light vehicles is that a 10% weight reduction generates a 6% improvement in fuel economy, or for electric vehicles, a 14% driving range increase. The numbers may be different, but the same principle holds for other types of vehicles. For example, Keoleian and his colleagues have reported up-to-date and more precise energy savings from lightweighting obtained using physicsbased models for a variety of light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles as well as other transportation modes, such as trains and aircraft. Going forward, two trends have emerged as the foci for further advances in lightweighting. The first is to build vehicles (body, chassis, and engine) using multiple materials rather than just one, whether steel or a lighter alternative (see Figure). “In addition to weight reduction, combining two or more materials in an optimized design can give better performance than one alone,” said
polymer researcher Uday Vaidya of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACME) and the University of Tennessee. Eventually, each vehicle
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